SMRT Bus Service 974 is a trunk service plying between Joo Koon and looping at Bukit Panjang, passing through Pioneer, Boon Lay, Jln Bahar, KJE and Choa Chu Kang.
↺ Bukit Panjang (Loop)
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Joo Koon Bus Interchange ↺ Upper Bukit Timah Road (Loop) | |||||||||||
| Passes Through | Upp Jurong Rd, Jurong West St 63, Jln Boon Lay, Choa Chu Kang Ave 4, Choa Chu Kang Way | |||||||||||
| Route Length | 35.1 km | |||||||||||
| Travelling Time | 80 – 110 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Jurong West Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | SMRT Buses Ltd |
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| Current Depot | Soon Lee Bus Depot | |||||||||||
| Current Fleet | Single-deck & Double-deck buses | |||||||||||
| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Joo Koon |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 05:45 – 22:45 | ||||||||||||
| After 22:45 till 23:30, buses departing Joo Koon operate as Service 974A, terminating at Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 (Lot 1/Choa Chu Kang Stn) | ||||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| Loop Service | 6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 10 – 13 mins | 10 – 14 mins | 11 – 12 mins | 12 – 16 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 13 – 16 mins | 14 – 16 mins | 15 – 16 mins | 14 – 15 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 15 mins | 13 – 16 mins | 15 mins | 15 mins | ||||||||
| Fare Information |
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| Fare | Charges regular distance fares |
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Bus Service 974 is a trunk service from Joo Koon, looping at Bukit Panjang MRT. The route enhances inter-town connectivity and provides Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang residents with access to existing bus services plying Nanyang Technological University and Jurong Industrial Estate. It will also enhance connectivity in the west by linking Bukit Panjang Station (Downtown Line) and Choa Chu Kang Station (North-South Line) to Boon Lay, Pioneer and Joo Koon Stations (East-West Line).
The route relieves end-to-end demand on Service 172 by providing an express bus corridor along the Kranji Expressway (KJE), offering faster journeys between Choa Chu Kang and Boon Lay, as well as complementing existing bus connections between Boon Lay and Joo Koon. Connecting directly to Joo Koon, the route will also benefit commuters travelling between the north of Singapore and industries at Joo Koon via train, reducing the need to transfer between the North South Line and East West Line at Jurong East.
MRT/LRT Stations Served:
- EW29 Joo Koon
- EW28 Pioneer
- EW27 Boon Lay
- NS4BP1 Choa Chu Kang
- BP2 South View
- BP3 Keat Hong
- BP4 Teck Whye
- BP5 Phoenix
- BP6–DT1 Bukit Panjang
Special Departures
- Upp Bt Timah Rd (Bt Panjang Stn Exit A/LRT) → Joo Koon Int
Weekdays: 05:45, 05:56, 06:07, 06:19, 06:31, 06:46 & 06:55
Saturdays & Sundays / Public Holidays: 05:45, 06:00 & 06:15
Short Trip Service
- Service 974A: Joo Koon Bus Interchange → Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 (Lot 1/Choa Chu Kang Stn)
Daily: 23:00 – 23:30 - Service 974A (Special Departures): Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 (Opp Choa Chu Kang Stn) → Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 (Lot 1/Choa Chu Kang Stn)
Weekdays: 00:19 – 01:05
Saturdays & Sundays / Public Holidays: 00:18 – 01:05
Early Announcement
Early Announcement (Click to expand)This route was revealed on 28 January 2018 on mobile applications displaying bus arrival timings using LTA Datamall.
The service was also displayed on the departure timings board of Joo Koon Bus Interchange.
Gallery
Gallery (SBS Transit & Tower Transit) at Page 2.
Poster Gallery
Operator History:
- 08 Apr 2018 – 28 May 2021: Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd
- 29 May 2021 – 14 Sep 2024: SBS Transit Ltd
- 15 Sep 2024 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd
Route History:
- 2018 (08 Apr): Introduced between Upp Bt Timah Rd (Bukit Panjang MRT) and Joo Koon Int. Operated by Tower Transit under the Bulim Bus Package. Wheelchair accessible at launch.
- 2019 (05 Oct): Last bus timing from Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 (Opp Choa Chu Kang Stn) extended from 01:00 to 01:05
- 2021 (23 Jan): Amended to start from Joo Koon Int and loop at Upp Bt Timah Rd (Bukit Panjang MRT) with the closure of Bt Panjang Temp Bus Pk
- 2021 (29 May): Operations transferred to SBS Transit Ltd under the Jurong West Bus Package
- 2022 (13 Feb): Serves a new pair of bus stops Aft Blk 503 and Opp Blk 502 along Kranji Expressway
- 2024 (15 Sep): Operations transferred to SMRT Buses under the Jurong West Bus Package
Back to Bus Services
Back to Bus Articles
- Gallery (SBS Transit)
- Gallery (Tower Transit)
The only good point about this bus service is that it provides fast connection between Choa Chu Kang and Jurong West via KJE/PIE. However, the current SMRT bus fleet for this bus service is disappointing. The fleet consists of mixed single and double deck busses with a medium bus frequency. This is not good because this service do have very good demand from students and workers traveling to Jurong West from CCK in the morning and the opposite during the afternoon peak hour. Thus, this bus are usually fully packed especially it comes to single deck busses. Commuters have to wait for the next bus, which has a medium frequency, and not guaranteed to be a double decker bus.
Beside the bus fleet issue, the bus frequency is not reliable. Although it was stated that the bus frequency for AM peak is 10-13 min, the next bus may arrive up to 20 min or more. Bus bunching do occurs too.
I do hope that the bus fleet eventually switch to full double deck busses to mitigate the current issues faced. The condition of this bus service was slightly better under SBS. When this bus was under SBS, even with the unfavorable frequency, it was coping better with double decker busses.
Waited for more than 40 minutes for 974 at Choa Chu Kang station. Bus service getting less and less reliable. But transportation fee getting more and more higher.
SMRT ruined this service. Waited 30 mins for 2 single deck buses to come together. Used to be full double deck fleet with single decks appearing here and there. Hope they can revert to full double deck service with shorter intervals too!
This bus (974) always full and waiting time is very long at bus stop 27101.
appreciate if SMRT could increase the bus and frequency during morning and evening peak hours.
Single decker scania buses resume operations daily. However, as a result, difficulty boarding during morning peak hours. Single deck filled to the brim. Which genius from SMRT thought it was a great idea for single deck deployment on weekdays
Bus bunching are getting blatantly common under SMRT. Not a road condition issue as this source from the interchange. 30 mins wait time and packed full on downsized single decks and bus captain can still take his own sweet time, BOCC sleeping or what?
Seems LTA favour piss poor operator performance and deployment while driving maximum profits for them instead. Still can dare to increase fare. Hope we as a community can come together to hold them accountable!